American consumers kept spending in July, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales, excluding auto dealers and gas stations, rose 0.32% from June on a seasonally adjusted basis and climbed 5.15% from a year earlier, marking the 10th straight month of gains.
The Census Bureau releases its own advance retail report for July on August 14, and the two readings together shape how solo retailers, service providers, and online sellers plan the back half of the year. Steady spending signals that customer demand is holding even as households stay careful with their money.
What The Retail Monitor Found
The Retail Monitor uses anonymized credit and debit card data rather than survey responses, so its figures are not revised later. Core sales, which also strip out restaurants, rose 0.3% for the month and 4.72% from July of last year.
Seven of nine categories grew on an annual basis. Electronics stores led with a 12.04% yearly gain, digital products rose 12.02%, and health and personal care stores climbed 10.07%, while building and garden supplies and sporting goods slipped from a year ago.
Why This Matters For Self-Employed Sellers
For a solo shop owner or independent maker, broad spending numbers are a demand signal. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said households stayed budget-conscious while leaning on summer discounts and early back-to-school deals to make their money go further.
That behavior rewards sellers who compete on value rather than price alone. A freelancer selling physical goods, a coach with digital products, or a service pro billing consumers can read the category detail to see where wallets are actually opening.
The gap between category winners and losers is also widening. Building and garden supplies and sporting goods both fell from a year ago, so a solo seller in one of those niches is working against a softer market and needs a sharper offer to stand out.
What Self-Employed Owners Should Do Next
Look at which of your offerings map to the categories still growing, then point marketing and inventory toward them through the late-summer window. If you sell electronics accessories, wellness products, or personal care items, demand is running well ahead of last year.
Keep an affordability message front and center, since shoppers are still hunting for value. Bundling, clear pricing, and small promotions can win the budget-conscious buyer without cutting your margins to nothing.
What To Watch Next
The Census advance report due August 14 will give a second read on the same month, and any gap between it and the card-based data is worth noting. Watch also whether cooling in other indicators, like the risk that one in five small businesses could face a cash crunch by the fourth quarter, starts to pull consumer spending down.
Back-to-school and holiday planning both start now for small sellers. A tenth straight month of growth is a reason for cautious optimism, but the month-over-month pace has flattened, so demand looks steady rather than accelerating.
Photo by Lucas: Unsplash
